Effect of Monomer Concentration and pH on Reaction Kinetics and Copolymer Microstructure of Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid Copolymer

Acrylamide (AAm)/acrylic acid (AAc) copolymer application performance is tied to copolymer properties, which in turn are related to the kinetics of the copolymerization. A systematic study has been conducted to investigate the effect of reaction factors such as total monomer concentration and solution pH on polymerization kinetics and copolymer microstructure. To study the effect of these factors, reliable reactivity ratios were estimated first. The trends in copolymer composition, molecular weight, sequence length distribution, and triad fractions were subsequently examined. Having a better understanding of kinetic profiles is needed in order to manipulate influential factors for tailoring AAm/AAc copolymer properties for the desired application.